Hamas vows revenge

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As tens of thousands of mourners cried out for vengeance over the assassination of the second Hamas leader in a month, there was widespread condemnation of the attack but muted criticism from Australia and the United States.

Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi died when two missiles hit his car on Saturday evening as he was passing the graveyard where his predecessor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, is buried.

Sheikh Yassin died when an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at his car on March 22.

The blow to Hamas ahead of the planned US-backed pull-out of Israeli settlements from Gaza triggered a furious response.

Faced with an Israeli threat to wipe out all its leaders, Hamas said it had named Dr Rantissi's successor but would keep his identity secret. Palestinian sources speculated the new leader was either Mahmoud al-Zahar or Ismail Haniyah.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon praised the army for the strike and promised that Israel would continue to fight terror.

The US denied condoning the attack but refrained from condemning the assassination.

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A State Department official, repeating a formula the US routinely uses when a Palestinian militant leader is attacked, urged Israel to consider the consequences of its actions, while adding: "Israel has a right to defend itself."

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer described the assassination as "unwise, regrettable and counter productive" but stopped short of condemning Israel.

"This is only going to inflame Palestinian opinion," he said on Channel Seven.

"On the other hand, it is important that in Australia we understand what the Israeli perspective is, that is, that Hamas is a terrorist organisation.

"They have been killing - and they still are killing - innocent Israelis, not just Israeli Defence Force personnel, and there's absolutely no doubt that a lot of Israelis feel that they have to take decisive action against Hamas."Asked if he would condemn Israel, Mr Downer said: "I have given my response . . . I am very concerned about it."

United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan criticised the assassination, saying it could lead to more violence in the Middle East.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Javier Solana, said it would not help the Middle East peace process, while British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned such attacks as wrong and unhelpful to peace.

After the missiles smashed into his car, Dr Rantissi, 56, an Egyptian-trained pediatrician, staggered a few metres from the wreckage before collapsing.

Two other men, at least one of them a bodyguard, were killed and five bystanders were injured.

In accordance with Islamic custom, Dr Rantissi was buried only hours later, in a grave beside that of Sheikh Yassin.

Dr Rantissi had been targeted by Israel in June last year when an Israeli helicopter gunship attack narrowly missed him.

That was the first indication that Israel had abandoned its previous declared policy of only targeting "ticking bomb" terrorists to prevent imminent attacks.

In a revenge attack the next day, a Hamas suicide bomber killed 16 people in Jerusalem.

Taking up the leadership of Hamas last month Dr Rantissi acknowledged he was probably marked for death.

"We will all die one day," he said. "Nothing will change. If by Apache (helicopter) or by cardiac arrest, I prefer Apache."

In Gaza City, his body was carried aloft on a stretcher draped in a green Hamas flag, his face left uncovered to reveal shrapnel lacerations. Weeping mourners reached out their hands to try to touch his body.

"The blood of Yassin and Rantissi will not be wasted," rose the call of one militant. "Their blood will force the eruption of new volcanoes." Thousands took up the refrain of revenge.

Hamas has so far failed to carry out the kind of huge attack it had promised to avenge Sheikh Yassin's death.

Dr Rantissi had been outspoken in his support of violence and Israel branded him "a mastermind of terrorism".

Earlier on Saturday, a suicide bomber sent by Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades had killed an Israeli border policeman at a Gaza border crossing.

But that attack fell far short of the apocalyptic revenge Hamas had promised over Sheikh Yassin, the wheelchair-bound imam whose reputation for Muslim piety earned him respect far beyond the ranks of Hamas.

"The Qassam Brigades (Hamas's military wing) promised a quality operation for Sheikh Yassin and that can't come overnight, it takes a lot of preparation," said Ahmed Taha, a 21-year-old student.

Like most Palestinians, he linked the latest killing to the backing by US President George Bush last week for Israel's plans to pull out of Gaza but annex other parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.

"Two days before this assassination Sharon was in America meeting Bush," he said. "Although the White House announced that they were not involved in this murder, that doesn't mean anything. America has always been famous for its one-sided approach to Israel."

Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said that in condemning the murder, the Government would not be endorsing Hamas but saying that assassinations were wrong and would only hamper the peace process.

"The Government went out on a limb (when Sheikh Yassin was assassinated) by not condemning the assassination where the United Nations and a number of European leaders did," she said.

"By standing back and not being prepared to condemn the assassination the Australian Government is implicitly saying these kinds of assassinations are therefore OK."

When Parliament resumes next month the Greens will call on the Government to condemn the assassination.

Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett said his party would consider supporting such a motion. "There is no doubt that this is an area where the Australian Government are too timid to make any strong statements, and again therefore missing an opportunity to play a constructive role in trying to... increase the chances for peace," he said.

A spokesman for Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said the Opposition did not support political assassinations.